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National League MVP Race with One Month Left

By Michael Francis

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 20: St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter (13) gets a high five from St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez (38) after hitting a solo homer in the ninth inning during the St. Louis Cardinals game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 20, 2018, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 20: St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter (13) gets a high five from St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez (38) after hitting a solo homer in the ninth inning during the St. Louis Cardinals game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 20, 2018, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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National League MVP
CHICAGO, IL – JULY 21: Javier Baez #9 of the Chicago Cubs reacts after making a play during the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during game one of a doubleheader on July 21, 2018 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs won 7-2. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

Who should be the National League MVP?

Rightly or wrongly the performance of the team overall will likely have a major impact on this race. The Braves, Diamondbacks and the Cardinals all currently occupy playoff spots but there is still a long way to go. If any of these teams miss out on the postseason, it will likely be difficult for their star player to win the award.

Ignoring team performance, this should be a very close race that will likely come down to the very end. There could even be other challengers for the award such as Milwaukee’s Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, Rockies third baseman, Nolan Arenado, or Chicago’s Javier Baez.

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With no one truly distinguishing themselves at this point, one of the league’s great pitchers could even be in the conversation. For instance, New York Mets ace pitcher, Jacob deGrom, leads all National League players in fWAR by a considerable margin.

It is hard to imagine a pitcher on such a bad team winning the Most Valuable Player award but the case can certainly be made that he is deserving. With all of these contenders, this race is going to come down to how the players perform over this last month of the season.

As of right now, the race is very close, but I think one player is going to have a strong month of September and pull ahead to take home the National League MVP award.

Prediction: Freddie Freeman

Next. Yankees get McCutchen. dark

So what do you think? Are Carpenter, Freeman, and Goldschmidt the three National League MVP frontrunners, or is someone else a better option? Comment below!

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